There is no such thing as a ‘correct’ Cinefade effect, as it is a very subjective storytelling tool that depends on the narrative and motivation behind its use. Due to the novelty of the effect there is no right way of using a variable depth of field in film and therefore lends itself to experimentation.

However, it could be argued that a good Cinefade effect is one in which the exposure stays constant and the bokeh or background blur are pleasing to the eye without any distracting image artefacts.

All cine-lenses are compatible with the Cinefade system as long as they have a geared manual aperture ring and accurate lens markings.

In our experience the following lenses work well with our system because they are fast, which produces a very shallow depth of field, have accurate lens markings, which are important for lens mapping and calculating a consistent exposure and finally cinematographers like using them because they are aesthetically pleasing and perform well optically.

• Leitz Summilux-C T1.4

• Cooke S4/i T1.4 and S7/i T2

• ARRI Zeiss Master Prime T1.3 (visible optical shading)

• ARRI Signature Prime T1.8

• Panavision Primo 70 Series T2

Please feel free to contact us for more details or if you have any further questions.